


At Dawn's Light

by t3f3r



Category: Neopets
Genre: Clans, Magic, Minor Violence, Other, Threats, marriage proposal (least not yet), tribes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-17 19:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9339002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t3f3r/pseuds/t3f3r
Summary: Aurora Ó Maolmhuaidh was given the Cheiftan role at the tender age of 17 because of her remarkable courage and magic abilities. After a whole year, the young girl is now in control of her own clan. But being a teenage leader is not as extravagant as you think. Especially when the idea of marriage is brought upon you right on your 18th birthday.Aurora must try her best to do what is right for her clan, but what about herself? The only advise she's ever gotten was to trust in her own better judgement. In this case, she's going to have to prove her own worth to the people in her clan and to herself as well.The first step begins, right at dawn's light.





	1. Just A Thought

**Author's Note:**

  * For [werelupewoods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/werelupewoods/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Clouds Over Cogham](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/256646) by theschizophrenicpunk. 



> This was a story I had planned on writing for a long time. I will try my best to put up as much parts as I can. I hope you guys like the story as well! I had always wanted to write out about my Ixi Raider OC Aurora (I was inspired by this wonderful fic that a friend of mine made too)~! (owo)b

It didn’t feel like just an average morning. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try her hardest to make it feel like one.

The young Ixi had woke up in the early hours of the morning that the sun was almost peaking over the snowy hilltops. From her window she could see the sky covered in colors of dark blue with hues of pink and purple, seeing as she could make out the beginning of the sun’s rays that still hide behind the snowy mountains. The young, now 18 year old chieftain, decided that she might as well get up to start her day instead of sulking in her bed. She groaned, rolling over on to all four hooves as she sluggishly made her way to the other side of her hut in a groggy haze. The young teen looked over the large basin on the other side of the room, making sure it was completely empty before she grabbed the smaller bucket just next to it. She fumbled with the bucket in her hands as she began to put on her large Werelupe coat before stumbling to the door of her hut. As soon as she opened the heavy door, she shivered from the cold wind that brushed past her. Despite wearing a heavy duty fur coat, she felt herself shake as the cold slowly seeped through her sleeves to crawl through her small frame under the coat as it roughly licked at her face.

She hated the cold. She absolutely loathed it.

The young teen hissed as she took a few shaky steps into the ankle deep snow, before quickly hopping over to one side of her hut to quickly gather up a bucket full of clean untouched snow, before quickly scampering back to the safety of her warm hut. As she scrambled in, she made sure to slowly close the door behind her as she looked over to the cot next to her’s. Normally her mother would be asleep in the cot next to hers, but instead the young teen blinked in confusion when she noticed that the cot was empty.

Where in Neopia was she?

The young teen shrugged her shoulders. _‘She’s probably preparing the meeting hut right about now,_ ’ she thought to herself. She shook off some of the snow on her legs before she tossed the snow from her bucket and into the wooden basin. She turned her attention now to the door on the far side of the room again, making another groan but much louder than the first as she set forth once again to gather more snow. At least she won’t be worried about waking anyone up. The young girl went back out at least 7 or 8 more times until the basin was finally too full with the snow she had gathered. After her final trip through the harsh cold, the young girl could barely feel her fingers, or ears, or even the tip of her nose. Her face was nearly pink from the cold and her horns were already getting snow crystals stuck onto them.

She could hardly wait to finally move on to the next step.

The girl sat down in front to the basin as she used a finger to hastily draw a homemade sigil in the center of the snow pile, just like her mother has done. After drawing the sigil, she put her hands on each side of the wooden tub’s rim and closed her eyes tightly. When her mother taught her how to do this, she had told her to imagine a nice warm sunset with wonderful warm colors, a nice warm evening with a field full of lovely spring flowers and warm fall leaves...

But she isn’t like her mother.

Instead the girl thought about everything and anything that related to overbearing heat. She imagined the hottest desert sands, the hottest sun on the hottest day of the year, and a nice wonderful hot cup of borovan with hot chili pepper flakes that could burn anyone’s tastebuds. She kept these thoughts in mind as she also envisioned the sigil in the center of her thoughts. All she had to do now was concentrate.

Concentrate…. Concentrate...

She finally felt steam hit her nose and her palms becoming so hot that her hands were starting to slowly become numb. It didn’t take long for her to open her eyes and was greeted with the wooden basin before her, but not filled with snow. This time, the basin was filled with piping hot water, as if someone had deliberately boiled the water and tossed it into the basin. Not a lick of snow or frost was left in it’s place.

 _‘Perfect!’_ the girl thought gleefully to herself. She quickly jumped up to strip herself from her heavy Werelupe fur coat and her pajama top as she slowly began to put in one hoof into the hot water. At first she flinched from how hot the water had been, but this only made her smile even bigger, knowing that it was exactly what temperature she had wanted. She slowly submerged her whole hoof into the piping hot water, then another- slowly of course- before adding another, and then the last hoof. She then sat herself inside the basin to submerge the rest of herself into the hot water, right until the water had finally reached up to her shoulders.

The teen sighed and leaned her head back onto the edge of the basin to take in her favorite past time. Taking a very scalding bath in the comfort of her own home in peace and quiet. Despite feeling serenity from her efforts, she couldn’t help but sigh deeply from what was in store for today. The day was suppose to be a happy sign and upcoming for the members of her clan, but to her it was nothing more than a waste of time. It was only something that could only spoil her supposedly ‘ _perfect day_ ’. The only thing she liked about today was how she was finally becoming a ‘full grown adult’ in the eyes of her clan and many others outside of it. She thought to herself that at least she was alone to enjoy a well deserved soak without anyone disrupting her before the busy day.

Or so she thought.

“Aurora!”

The young girl nearly dunk herself deeper into the tub as the door from her hut opened, letting in the cold outside air into the warm hut and right onto her back. Coming in was a young short Cloud Ixi Raider with with white wool that nearly covered her body, close behind her was a rather large purple Ixi Raider with orange freckles covering her whole entire body and with large horns. As soon as the two had come in, the Purple Ixi closed the door behind her. The young teen, Aurora, slowly peeked over the tub as the Cloud Ixi smiled over at her and began to hug while ruffling a hand through her long black hair.

“Happy Birthday to my most favorite niece in the whole wide world~!” she cooed as she began to nuzzle the young teen’s face. The teen shivered as she felt how cold the woman’s face was from being outside, but she allowed the woman to continue displaying her affections..

“Rosemary…” Aurora groaned as the woman finally let her go. The teen tried her best to fix her now messy hair, despite her arms and hands being wet from submerging her whole body into the tub. “You could have knocked first before letting in the cold. But thank you for the wishes… I guess-”

“What do you mean ‘ _you guess_ ’? Being 18 is such a big deal! Especially for you miss ‘ _clan leader_ ’.” Rosemary replied as she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. “When I was your age, I was so proud to call myself an adult! I had finally gotten a lovely long bow that I always wanted, I get to go out on raids, do trades outside of my clan, flirt with the boys, go visit other clans without any supervision~” she sighed from the nostalgic memories and she gave the teen a reassured smile. “Why- If I could relive those days again, I would! My 18th birthday was like a fairytale~!”

“Aurora is just upset that the other clan leaders are going to talk to her about the idea of ‘ _marriage_ ’.” the taller purple Ixi replied, her accent thick with the language of their olden language within the clan. The woman, whose name is Astilbe, began to fold the twisted blankets from Aurora’s cot as the teen pout childishly and Rosemary placed a hand to her mouth with an audible ‘Ooooh’.

“Mama! You know I don’t want to go through some stupid marriage… Pact... thing. And I surely don’t want to talk to a bunch of old men about it!” Aurora cried out, despite her words the taller female only raised a brow at her.

“Those ‘ _old men_ ’ are the other clan leaders from the surrounding tribes, love. Those leaders have to talk to every new leader about this subject. I surely had to be brought up in that conversation when I married your father, and when I became the leader of our tribe too.” her mother exclaimed as she placed the folded blankets to the side “You may not be interested now, but if you are in the future, then it’s your duty to bring it up to these leaders. You just have to tell them that yourself”. Aurora only groaned as she slipped further and further into the tub until the hot water reached her chin.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if ' _Mr. Grump'_ was going to be there too. He’s much more cooler and interesting than any other old goat there…” Aurora mumbled, before she began to blow bubbles into the hot water.

“Who?” Rosemary asked this time with a raised brow.

“She’s talking about Novani of the Steppe Plateau.” Astilbe replied, grabbing a brush from her dresser as she sat behind the basin to brush through her daughter’s long black hair. “Unfortunately for him, he’s far too busy with his camp to stop by. On top of that, I’m sure he won’t be interested in coming by if it was about a marriage pact-”

“Wait wait. Isn’t he also single too?-”

“You guys! It’s not only just a ‘ _marriage pact’_ thing, It’s my birthday too! Did anyone forget that?” Aurora groaned. “Since he’s not going to be there I’m gonna be so bored! And I’m gonna have to talk to Quinlan’s annoying father and he’s not going to listen to a word I say because he has corn in his ears!” Aurora replied in agitation as she crossed her arms and turned her head away. Astilbe only rolled her eyes from her daughter’s tantrum as she put down her brush and reached into her bag to pull out a flower crown made from daisies and lilies she had in her garden, putting it gently on Aurora’s head.

“I told you it runs in the family, no?” Astilbe asked over to Rosemary with a grin. Aurora curiously peeked over her shoulder as her mother and Rosemary laughed together.

“What do you mean by that?” she mumbled.

“Nothing my dear. It’s just… Kye was making such a fuss when I had to send him off to Conor’s clan too.” Astilbe noted as she pulled out blue and white feathers from her bag to tie them onto the flower crown. “Of course his attitude changed when I told him a little secret that could help him get through the time he had spent with Conor and his clan. I like to think it had worked.”

“I think so too! I mean, not only did Kye survive his time in the clan, but he also surprisingly married Conor as well. It’s like love always had something in store with those two.” Rosemary sighed softly, putting her hand in the water absentmindedly. She jumped in her sitting as she quickly pulled her hand back before looking at Aurora. “Goodness gracious! That water is too hot! What are you trying to do, cook yourself?”

“If I can avoid today’s meeting, then yes.” Aurora mumbled. She glanced back at her mother with curiosity. “What was the secret you told him?” she asked, seeing her mother use her finger to tap her bottom chin while she pondered at the thought.

“Hmm… I don’t know if I should tell you. You may not like the secret…” she replied in a cheeky tone, making the teen pout once more.

“Please Mama! If it’ll help me get through talking to the leaders then I want to know! Pleaaaaaaaase?” she drawled as she looked up at her mother with pleading eyes. Astilbe began to ponder at the thought some more before she looked back at her daughter.

“If I tell you, will you follow my instructions clearly?” she asked. Aurora smiled widely, before slightly frowning from her mother’s reply. She was getting too many mixed feelings for her mother’s request that she didn’t even know how to answer her.

“Yes!.... No…. Maybe? It depends. If I have to kill someone then I’ll just suffer through the rest of the day-”

“No no, nothing like that.” Astilbe interrupted. She grabbed onto her daughter’s face gently to see into her eyes. “I told Kye that the only way to get through the day is to just be himself. It may not seem like much, but it’s very important to follow that rule. Whenever something happens, don’t ask yourself ‘ _What would mom do?_ ’, or ‘ _What would Kye do?_ ’. No. You must ask yourself, ‘ _What would I do? What would Aurora do_?’ Understand?”

Aurora nodded slowly but looked down at her hands anxiously.

“But Mama… will that really work? How will I know I’m making the right choice?” she asked hesitantly, looking back to see her mother still continuing to smile at her.

“You will know when the time comes, Love. When it happens, you know what to choose.” her mother replied as she nuzzled her daughter’s face before getting up from her sitting. “Now, if you’re ready to come out of the bath, we could see if breakfast is ready before we can talk to the leaders-”

“Actually, I was thinking I can talk to the leaders first.” Aurora replied as she began to get up from the basin before wrapping a towel around her shoulders. “I was thinking that the sooner we talk to the leaders the better, and if any one of them want to stay for breakfast then they can. Or if they need to go back home, then they don’t have to wait long to do so.” she pointed out. The older Ixi nodded and patted her daughter’s shoulders.

“See? You’re already know what to do, _mo bhana-phrionnsa_.”

* * *

 

The young girl opened the door to the large long hut. The main center for meetings and gatherings for times of celebration, or for war. In this instance, it was like a combination of the two in the eyes of the clan leader, Aurora Ó Maolmhuaidh. She swallowed nervously as she looked on to see various of leaders from other Ixi Raider clans and camps. Varying from different height, genders, clothing, and even weapons. For this occasion Aurora had put on her flower crown headdress her cream colored crop top that slipped past one shoulder as it was held together with only a Dahlia flower. She also had her hair covering her left eye, which hid the injury she had received the year before on this very day. The teen stood up straighter before walking into the warm hut. She grasped tightly on her ice picker as she used it to hit the floor lightly with each prideful stride she made ( _at least she found out it was easy to fake her own confidence when in front of others)_.

When she would see a leader look in her direction, she would give her best to smile over at them with a slight nod. Some had nodded back to her, others would give her a low bow and a few would even tap their weapon to the ground as she passed by. It was an honor to see the numerous of clan leaders, all differentiating in culture and history. Together though, they were all just the same. They were all leaders of the clan that want to protect and serve. It brought relief to Aurora that the leaders were showing a great amount of respect to her and her clan. It even made the young leader happy to know that everyone can gather together and feel like close friends or family.

Or, at least suppose to.

Aurora squeaked out loud when she felt something hit the back of her head, nearly making her flower crown fall off of her head. She fixed her flower crown quickly just as she reached for the object that had hidden itself deep into her long black hair. As she untangled the object from her hair, she could see that the object was actually a small green acorn. When she was observing it in her hand, another acorn came out of her nowhere and hit her right in the center of her forehead this time.

“Ow! Hey!” She cried out, making a few of the leaders look back at her in a questionable stare. She gritted her teeth as she heard a loud laugh come from one of the dark corners of the long hut.

“I was wondering when the birthday girl was going to arrive. I was getting bored out of my mind just waiting for you.” the figure replied as they stepped out into the light. Aurora and the other leaders look to see that it was a male pink Ixi Raider, about two years older than the young teen. He had a pixie style haircut that showed off his bubblegum colored hair, he also wore a green shirt and had green vines wrapped around his waist that held his small bag and also a blowdart which he had currently in his hand.

“ _Cúl Tóna_!” She swore as she thrown the acorn back at him. The Ixi casually dodged the attack and gave her a smug grin.

“Aww, come on I was just playing~ It’s just nice to know that you’re finally old enough to marry this handsome devil here.” he cooed as he flexed an arm to her.

“‘ _Devil_ ’ is exactly what you are.” Aurora replied with a roll of her eye, before standing up straighter and hitting the end of the ice pick on the ground sternly. “Look Quinlan, you better be on your best behavior or else I have no choice but to kick you out-”

“And who says you have that right?” a voice piped up. Aurora and Quinlan both looked up to see a taller Ixi Raider take slow strides up to them. They were a red Ixi covered in white freckles, they also had very short pink hair, but two very large horns on their head covered in gold thread. The most noticeable feature on the Ixi was how they had one green eye and one red eye. While the ixi was a head taller than Quinlan, they were actually two heads taller than Aurora. Quinlan and Aurora stiffen in their spot, but Aurora was the only one who forced a smile to the other Ixi.

“Oh, Cleome. I didn’t think you would show up here willingly-”

“Don’t flatter yourself, runt,” The taller ixi spat as she looked over at Aurora. “I was only dragged here because of our father.”

Aurora nodded as she turned her gaze to her ice picker instead of the Ixi. Quinlan and Cleome’s father Maddock, was the leader in charge of the clan closest to the region of Altador. Of course he was the same leader that also told Astilbe that Aurora should have gotten married when she just became a leader of her clan, despite only being 17 years old. Her clan prohibits such actions, but because Maddock’s clan was a fairly small clan, he was desperate to have Aurora be wedded to Quinlan so the two clans can become one. Aurora’s mother at the time forbid it, and stated that when Aurora was 18 that she will have her own say on the matter.

And this is how her 18th birthday became just a huge mess.

“Well, I’d figured as much.” Aurora stated, turning back to Cleome. “And here I thought you were old enough to talk back to your father to stay at home. Not be dragged around like a little toddler.” she stated. Quinlan stiffened in his spot and Aurora could see Cleome grit her teeth and she walked up to her. She reached out to grab Aurora by the shirt, pulling her up to her face until the two’s noses were barely touching. Aurora was not really terrified by the woman’s action at all, she herself was more than ready to prepare herself to fight back. She may be small, but she was more than capable to hold her own. Quinlan however was horrified and Aurora can see from the corner of her eye that he was still legged locked in his place.

“S-sis! She didn’t mean it! Just-”

“Oh no, she definitely meant it, don’t you _‘little miss know it all_ ’?” Cleome asked. Aurora shrugged casually as she stared back at the warrior.

“Sure I do. But I think it’s unfair, you know? I mean, you’re four years older than me and yet your dad treats you like a babe-”

“Shut up.” Cleome growled. Aurora stopped herself, but kept herself calm as the woman glared into her only visible eye. “You act like you know what it takes to be a leader, but you don’t. You have no authority to talk about my father like that. And you sure as hell don’t have the authority to kick us out-”

“Actually I do.” Aurora snapped back, she used a free hand to grab onto Cleome’s horn to hold her close. In her clan it was a threatening sign, but in many other clans it was a sign to fight for one’s authority before bringing it out to a full on brawl. “Now you listen to me. Your father may have the guts to prance into my clan and preach all he wants- But that doesn’t mean I will take either of your actions lightly. If you don’t believe I have the authority to kick you three out, then I would like to see you stop me. _Cleome Pajari_.” she replied sternly.

Aurora has never wanted to addressed anyone in her clan, or anyone outside of her clan, by their full name. To the entire Ixi Raider tribes, getting called by your full name from any of the tribe leaders was anything but prideful. It was an omen of punishment. So Aurora wasn’t also surprised when she actually heard some of the leaders around her whispering to one another while Cleome’s grip on her shirt tighten even more.

What she was surprised about, was the voice that had interrupted them.

“Unhand her.”

Aurora and Cleome’s gaze turned to see who the voice belonged to. Aurora’s eyes widen when she saw that from the shadows stood a rather large ashy black colored Ixi, his long black hair draped past his shoulders and his eye covered with a patch. The taller male’s gaze was fixated mostly on Cleome more than it was to Aurora, and the young teen could see that the male also had his axe in his grip, clacking it against the ground as he stops just a few feet from them. The man looked them over as they continued to stand there.

“Well?” He asked. Aurora instantly pulled her hands off of Cleome’s horn and absentmindedly her ice picker as well. Letting it clatter just at her feet as she held her hands up to her chest as if to say ‘ _I’m not doing anything, honest_ ’. The older male gave a tired sigh with a shake of his head. “I was talking to her.” he exclaimed, looking over to Cleome as she continued to hold her firm grip on Aurora’s shirt. Both Cleome and the older male looked at each other with stern gazes, but in complete silence. Aurora didn’t need to guess who could win during this silent showdown, she had heard from her mother how patient this man could be when it comes to remaining silent.

And perhaps how judging he could be too.

After another minute of silence and hesitation, Cleome pawed the ground angrily before dropping Aurora back onto her feet. Cleome crossed her arms together to wait for the man’s orders, while Aurora used this time to quickly fix her shirt and give the older leader a proper low bow.

“About time.” He replied as he looked over to Cleome. “Be thankful that you and your family is still here. If we were back in my clan, I would have kicked out already.” He tilted his head towards the other side of the hut, “Get going. And take Pinkie with you.”

Cleome nodded to him with a ‘ _Yes Sir_ ’ as a mumbled reply before turning away from his gaze. As she was walking past Aurora she made sure to bump roughly into the teen’s arm before grabbing Quinlan by the back of his neck.

“Let’s go.”

“Are you kidding me?” Quinlan cried out as he glared over to the man. “Did you hear what he called me? He called me-”

“ **Let’s go**.” Cleome stressed with a stern and agitated voice, Quinlan let out a deep sigh as he quickly followed his sister’s step. Aurora still had her head lowered in a bow, so she was unable to see what the man was up to. But she did see him pick up her ice picker from the ground and hold it out to her in his hand.

“Don’t ever drop your weapon. That’s a sign of weakness.” he told her. Aurora nodded as she used a hand to grab at her weapon. The man’s hand pulled the weapon back out from her hand, and Aurora instinctively pulled her hand back as well. When she reached out for her weapon again, the man pulled it out yet again. This made Aurora look up at the older male, seeing a small smile tugging at his lips. Aurora couldn’t help but pout at him when she learned that the man was playing her, and on the third time she able to successfully pull the ice pick away from the man’s hands.

“Novani you jerk!” Aurora cried out with a slight chuckle. The older chief rolled his eyes before looking back to her.

“I’m serious. You should never drop your weapon. **Ever**.” he stressed. Aurora rolled her eyes this time as she twirled her ice pick effortlessly in her hand.

“I know, I know. But you just seem so… Stern and mean looking when you said to drop it. It seemed very convincing.” Aurora remarked as she held the weapon like a staff. She rubbed her eye anxiously before looking back at him. “Also… Um… Thank you. For helping me with Cleome.” She sighed gripping her weapon with two of her hands now. “Have you... Ever have this huge feeling that someone just wants to murder you in your sleep? That's the kind of vibe I'm getting from her.”

“I suggest that you keep your guard up around her then.” Novani remarked, using his axe like a King’s staff while he tapped it against the hut’s floor. “I rarely ever find myself in any of these meetings, but I do know that Maddock isn’t a man that should be trusted. I won't be surprised if his children end up being the same as him.” Aurora raised a questionable brow at the man just as she heard the comment.

“So… Why are you here then?”

“I’m here to only talk to a few leaders about the situations I have back at home.” He answered flatly. Aurora nodded slowly as she watched the man from her gaze, it surely wasn’t a surprise that he would be here for work or his clan too. But she was surprised when he added onto the sentence. “And… Astilbe insisted that I come by to-” he stopped in his sentence as he saw Aurora’s eyes widen, and her smile grew rather large. A grimace appeared on his face as he shook his head, “Anyway. You’re already behind schedule for the meeting-”

“You were going to say that you here to wish me a happy birthday, weren’t you?” Aurora probed, even while Novani quickened his pace she quicken her’s to catch up to him.

“I said no such thing.”

“No. But you were going to.” Aurora remarked before lightly nudging the man’s arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll pretend you didn’t say anything to me. But thank you for the birthday wishes.” she said. The man sighed deeply again, but his fingers tapped against the handle of his weapon before he replied in a low whisper.

“You’re welcome.”


	2. An Unhappy Ruling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time for a meeting has come, and Aurora Ó Maolmhuaidh has made her decision about the marriage proposal within her clan. While a leader isn’t fond of her ruling, an outsider of her clan has asked her for an offer that Aurora simply cannot refuse. Of course if she wasn’t a small bundle of nerves mixed with anxiety, then perhaps she could have refused the offer.
> 
> Couldn’t she?
> 
> Or was she simply not yet fit for what was to come of her clan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of At Dawn’s Light... Whoooo boy. It’s quite something. Some angst up in here because my anxiety has been clinging to me on and off for the past few days and it stinks. At least I can vent everything by writing, right? 
> 
> Also I feel bad for my baby girl Aurora, she’s like ‘This birthday sucks’. lol my poor baby…. QwQ Anyway, enjoy part 2 and keep an eye out for part 3 (hopefully it should be finished soon). Kind of short, but hey, it's fine if you combined it with the first chapter and the upcoming third chapter.

Aurora watched as all of the leaders gathered in a large circle, around a ring that was made visibly on the ground. Some of the leaders happen to be sitting, while others were simply just standing. The teen had slowly made her way into the center of the circle as she saw Novani walked around most of the other leaders, soon standing not far off behind her. Aurora looked on curiously as a few more familiar faces came close around her, one of the faces in particular had stood out to her the most, it just so happened to be a younger speckled Ixi who stood just next to her mother. The Ixi was a head taller than herself, he had a light brown shirt, a collar decorated with flowers and had a head that was almost shaved except for a small patch of brown hair. The Ixi looked like as if he had his eyes closed, but she knew that wasn’t the case with the Ixi. She could tell because once the interesting male had turned his head to her, he waved.

The teen smiled and waved sheepishly back. The speckled Ixi, Kye, was actually her older cousin. In fact, he had previously left the clan to marry the leader of another close to Illusen’s Glade many years ago when she was just a little baby. As she glanced around the room, she couldn’t see the leader of her cousin’s clan anywhere…  Other than Kye himself. Perhaps his spouse was at home tending the clan while. Or maybe the other leader was with Rosemary’s husband Basill, who was already outside of her clan in pursuit to catch some breakfast.

Whichever the case was, Aurora could think about it later as she looked up to see the leaders all gathering around her. The ‘ _Elders_ ’ were no more than just the other leaders that live just around her own clan, the only other ‘ _elder_ ’ in the clan was just an elderly female Ixi who was honorably known as ‘ _Granny_ ’ to many of the clans folk. The older Ixi was rumored to have her 5 sons founded 5 different clans close to the Illusen’s Glade area, all except 1 of the clans had died out from either wars or illness, along with her sons. Because of this, the old woman only drifts between different clans to offer her expertise in healing and magic ( _or sharing her tall tales from her olden days_ ).  Aurora could see the old woman push her way through the leaders and stand just besides Kye. The elder was dressed in nothing but heavy Werelupe furs, beads and bandages while she had her long decorated walking stick covered with feathers and even an old Draik skull which she claimed she had gotten ages ago.

Aurora glanced at the woman,seeing Granny’s eyes turn to her for a moment before the old woman started to bang the bottom of her stick on the ground loudly.

“Quiet! Quiet I say! Before I whack each and every one of you’s on the head!” She called out. The chattering in the room finally ceased and the older woman nodded contently. “That’s much better! Now, whoever is new here should know that we have rules in these sort of events. Rule number one, no fighting. Rule number two, if you don’t shut the hell up then I will clobber you until you’re nothing but black and blue-”

“That’s a new rule.” Kye snickered. Granny turned her head to glare towards the giddy male before she continued.

“Rule number three…. Dangit- My old brain has forgot what rule number three is. No matter! Let’s just get this meeting over with so i can go back to sleep…” The woman trailed,  licking her dry lips just before turning her gaze back to Aurora’s. “Now… Everyone has known that little lovely Aurora here has finally turned 18 in this clan. This is a celebratory time for us you know. Why, she has finally finished the first half of her life! Living through her stages of infancy and childhood with her mother, father and clan. And now, she is finally beginning to live out the next step of her life. The grand wondrous journey of adulthood!”

Aurora felt her face flushed as some of the leaders clapped and others tapped their weapons onto the hard earth floor. She made a humble bow to the leaders as Granny continued.

“Yes yes, we are all so very proud of her lasting this long. I know others who lived until they were 17 and then **-wham-**! They drop down altogether like flies-” She chuckled to herself before leaning against her large stick.  “Anyway, We just need her to last a bit more in her life. You all may know why, right?.”

“For children right?” Kye asked out loud. Aurora couldn’t help but pout as a few of the leaders around her chuckled. However the young Ixi was glad to have gotten her revenge when Granny whacked Kye on the head with her staff before continuing.

“Anymore out of your mouth and you’ll be an example for rule number 2, Kye.” Granny spat. Kye only chuckled while Granny went back to supporting herself on her stick. “And no, not about children… Not yet I mean. I was talking about marriage.” The elderly Ixi looked over at Aurora, in turn the young now adult bowed her head to her before looking around at the leaders.

“Fellow leaders. You all are very, very dear to me. I have shown each and every one of you true respect. Whether I see you like a mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, friend. I am truly, deeply honored to have become the next leader in my clan. To have the role that my mother Astilbe and my father Castor have entrusted to me since my very birth…” She paused as she looked around the room. She took in a big sigh before she continued.

“Of course, I don’t feel like the role of being a leader was a decision that has been made by my parents. No. In fact, I believed it was also the very decision of the clan as well, that made me who I am today. The clan that had helped my mother raise me to be the very leader I am today… With that being said I want to point out that the decision of marriage shouldn’t be left in the decision of just myself, but my clan as well-”

“What does that even mean?” A voice yelled. Aurora turned her head to see a large dark red Ixi on her far left. The man seemed much more older than her, and standing close to him was Quinlan and Cleome. It wasn’t a surprise to Aurora that their father Maddock would be the one to interrupt her speech.

But for once, she had hoped that he did, just so she can prove her point.

“I’m glad you asked.” Aurora began as she stared at Maddock for a moment, before turning her gaze to look at the other faces of the leaders around her. “It means that while I have the power to rule over my clan, I won’t decide what actions to choose unless my clan can come to an agreement with each other. That includes, pact marriages.” She paused herself again, having some of the leaders quickly whisper to themselves before Granny spoke up.

“So, what you are saying young one… Is that you won’t choose to marry unless the whole clan comes into the agreement of who would marry you?”

“Precisely.” Aurora stated. “Whoever I marry has to be accepted by not only myself, but my clan as well. That, is the right and only way I will ever truly marry-”

“What about my son?” Maddock asked as he grabbed his son by the arm to bring him closer to the circle for the other leaders to see. “He had stayed with your clan for nearly two seasons! Surely that means-”

“I don’t mean to interrupt you, Maddock. But your son Quinlan is out of the question,” Aurora stated. “During the past two seasons, he has been nothing but trouble. He has caused more than enough ruckus in my clan. Especially to the younger children, who are the most important figures our future generation in the clan has to offer. The other members and I have all come into an agreement that he wasn’t such a delight. So… He has no choice but to choose anyone else that isn’t me.” Aurora stated. While Maddock frowned from this news, Quinlan only smiled as he crossed his arms and muttered ‘Oh well, I tried’ before the father pinched his ear to silence him.

“What about me?” Aurora turned her head to see Cleome stepped forward just next to her father. Aurora blinked in surprise as her mouth twisted with confusion and displeasure.

‘ _You have got to be kidding me_.’ she thought to herself as she shook her head.

“Are…. You serious?” Aurora asked. She tapped her ice picker anxiously on the hard ground to make a small hole in the earth, she could even see her knuckles turning white from how hard she was gripping it. “You’re joking! You’re joking aren’t you? You are really just trying to play me right? You have little to no trust in me- Hell. I don’t even know if I _should_ trust you! The many times you have come into my clan you have done nothing but belittle me and threaten me! While I am happy that you show my clan members respect, you have done nothing but belittle me ever since I had saved-”

Aurora had no choice but to stop herself as her voice cracked. Her chest felt like a heavy rock was crushing the life out of her, while her throat felt like invisible hands were strangling her to ensure that no air could travel back into her lungs. Aurora cursed to herself when she pawed the ground anxiously like a terrified Whinny. She hated when her anxiety hits, and she could feel hot tears threatening to fall from her eyes while she tried desperately to calm herself down by taking deep breaths.

‘ _Breathe Aurora, breathe_.’ she can hear the voice in her head tell her, which sounded close to her mother’s voice. She took in a few more breaths before she turned back to see Cleome’s face. To her surprise she could see not anger nor amusement in the woman’s face, but more like….

_Pity?_

_Guilt?_

She could see distress come from the other woman’s face and now Aurora was hating herself even more than usual. She hates it when someone is in discomfort or pain. She hates it that perhaps someone in the circle around her may look at her now and think that she’s a villain or madman in this meeting when all she was saying was nothing but the truth.

She never should have come here.

Why on earth was she even a leader of her clan in the first place?

Aurora took in a shaky breath as she rubbed her left eye, conveniently covered by her own hair as she felt an intense burning pain coming from it. As soon as she took her hand off she could see warm blood right on her palm and this made her even more stressed and anxious than she previously was. Her head hung down as she felt her left eye continuously start to tear up, but instead of tears, it was  blood that dripped down her cheek and onto her shit, as well as even the earth under her.

_‘No,_ ’ she thought to herself sternly. ’T _his wasn’t the time or place to break down_.’

Aurora took in a deep breath, and as calmly as she could she looked back at the taller woman.

“Tell me. Why? Why should I even give you a chance, Cleome?” She asked. Aurora was expecting the woman to chuckle, sneer, or even roll her eyes to her for her small breakdown before she got the chance to answer. But for once she saw Cleome bit her lower lip, pondering in her thought as she looked down at her crossed arms before looking back at her.

“When I was younger… I had remember that your father, Castor Ó Maolmhuaidh, said ‘ _Everyone deserves a second chance_ ’. I have been aggressive towards you yes, and i realize that I am not proud of my actions. But I beg of you…. Please, give me a chance to stay with your clan. I will stay as long as you like, be it a day, a month, a year. I just want you to give me a second chance to prove my worth, and to perhaps even marry you myself.” She asked.

Aurora took in another breath as she clenched her teeth.

If this was the woman’s own version of a joke, then it was a really good one.

She felt conflicted between shock, anger and anguish as she heard this woman bring up her father. How can she even tell if Cleome was telling the truth? She had never remembered anything about her father. She was only but a few weeks old when her father had died in an accident on the snowy mountain tops, and the only time she has heard about her father was when anyone in her clan ever talked about him.

Which alone seemed rarely.

Aurora absentmindedly glanced over at her mother, she saw that the older woman looked over at her with concern and with a sad expression on her face. Astilbe held a hand to her mouth as she sighed softly, trying to compose herself from Cleome’s words. Her cousin Kye was standing next to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, doing his best to keep her calm during the meeting while Granny tapped her staff into the ground with agitation.

The young teen then looked over to see Novani, she could tell that his body was stiff up to the point where he began to click his axe onto the ground as well. When Aurora looked at him however, she saw that he had stopped his anxious tapping. She watched as he used a free hand to lift it palm up right to his chest, before slowly putting his hand palm down in a slow movement. It took Aurora seconds to realize that he was actually signaling her to _‘breathe in and out_ ’ slowly, to calm herself down at least until the meeting was over. She nodded slowly to him, following his silent order by taking in a deep slow breath before she turned her head back to Cleome.

“I, Aurora Ó Maolmhuaidh, have decided to give you a second chance. But I will only have you for two seasons. If at any time I decide to terminate or extend your stay, I will bring it up with my clan to see what their ruling is as well.” Aurora replied. For once she saw the woman bow down low to her, but she turned her head quickly to look at the other leaders. She could feel her chest ache and quiver from the anxiety that was lingering over her still and she had to actually force the words out of her mouth for the other leaders to hear her.

“My ruling still stands. I will have only but myself and my clan to overlook any marriage proposal. And for two season’s Cleome will be staying in my clan for an evaluation. Until then, I thank you all for coming. This meeting is now over. You all are free to go.”


End file.
